


Riptide

by Jexxica_Jade



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Blood and Injury, Experimentation, F/F, Framed Shiro, Hacker Pidge | Katie Holt, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Hospitals, Hurt Lance (Voltron), In Hiding, Interrogation, Lance (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Langst, Langst AU, Lesbians, M/M, Mclain Siblings, Might be a stand alone or a Series idk yet, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Pidge has a lot on her mind, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Police Officer Allura (Voltron), Stormy beaches, Suicide, They all do to be honest, Tortured Lance (Voltron), Undercover, codes, fake phone number, gays, investigator Pidge, klance, veracxa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2019-11-13 19:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18037730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jexxica_Jade/pseuds/Jexxica_Jade
Summary: Lance Mclain committed suicide following the death of his sister, or so everyone says. No one knows, however, that Lance is still alive, harbouring the key to unlocking a mystery that has many investigators stumped. Now he's torn between exposing himself for the greater good, or hiding from the threats that await him in this world where everyone thinks he's dead.Keith moved to the seaside of Arus, in hopes of a fresh start, but after meeting a stranger by the boardwalk who gives him a curious phone number, he discovers that there really is something much darker going on behind the scenes.aka: The story of two boys who are in over their heads and just can't seem to escape their issues.





	1. Prologue - An Ocean Tomb

In the days following her murder he was a wreck. They don't know where he was when it happened, but he must have known. He hadn't left his house once, and no one saw him in his final days.

 

Until he finally left. One night of the few that had followed. He wandered, guided only by the moonlight, through the forest and down the winding trails that lead to the most fantastic view of the sea. And he waited, hands resting on the cool steel railing that stood like a gate in his path.

 

He thought, even if it were just for a moment, about what to do next. He thought about his grief, and his family. What would they say? What would _she_ want him to do next?

 

He never allowed himself to find the answer, and if there even was one remained another futile question in the face of unforgiving fate.

 

His heart clenched at the sound of the waves and the sight of the horizon, stretching out for what seemed like forever. The ocean was special to him, you see. He'd lived a life by the seaside, filled with adventures in the sand and rolling waves. It was many beautiful memories like that, which made him feel at home here. By the beach, and one with the water. Like he belonged there if nowhere else. The perfect place ... to think.

 

But at that point he'd already made up his mind.

 

He closed his eyes and breathed. The salty scent of the seaside again greeted him, beckoning to him and calling him home. He didn't belong here anymore, he didn't deserve it. With all the guilt and pain he held inside him, he didn't know what felt right anymore.

 

But he knew this. The moon and the dark sky sprinkled with stars was perhaps the most beautiful part of this place, and he smiled, for the last time it seemed. Stray tears ran down his cheeks and fell into the restless waters below. The rocks like sirens, calling him forward.

 

And then he jumped.


	2. A Ghost in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith meets Leandro

The night air was cool, as he wandered down the creaking boardwalk by the beach. Jetties jutting out like stages, littered with stray sand and forgotten soda cans. The world was quiet, save for the distant chatter of the bar. Few people would come outside at this time, but Keith was not like others, at least not tonight. In these moments, he was glad he decided to move to a seaside town.

 

Keith was running from something. He'd freely admit to that. His own mistakes seemed to topple any source of pride he had left. He didn't care, not anymore. The people of the press could think what they wanted to, but he knew the truth and as long as he couldn't convince anyone else of that yet, he'd settle for this.

 

The water was dark in the face of the night, like liquid shadow. The sounds of waves crashing against the sand was comforting in a way he couldn't quite say. Often the silence brought peace in times like these, but he hadn't found that at night for a while, not in the city at least, but he could enjoy this. Even if he'd never really visited the beach much before.

 

As his boots scuffed the wood beneath him, he found another sound. It was quiet, and so was the figure before him, who sat mourning like a ghost in the night. He wore a scrappy hoodie, jeans and he clutched the bench he sat on like it might save him from falling into his own misery. His head hung low, and his face obscured, but it was clear that he was crying.

 

Keith didn't know what pulled him toward this boy, but through lack of anything better to do, coupled with the overwhelming empathy he felt welling up inside him, he edged closer and closer. If the boy saw him coming he showed no sign, but as he neared about two feet from him, the boys head snapped up, and he found himself drawing up short.

 

He couldn't believe he had come without a plan, and worse still, he had forgotten how utterly terrible he was with words. Blue eyes caught his, shiny and wet with tears. And unthinking, he sat beside him.

 

"Um... You okay?" he tried, attempting to halt the sheer awkwardness of the situation.

 

The boy laughed wetly for a second.

 

"Yeah, I'm fine just... Shit day..." he said.

 

"...Wanna... talk about it?"

 

The boy looked at him incredulously, and he mentally face palmed at the line.

 

"Ugh sorry, I'm bad at this," Keith said.

 

"Well that much is true," they both chuckled at that one.

 

His brain really wasn't on his side tonight.

 

A string of silence passed before the boy spoke again, "Life sucks," he said out of context.

 

"Yeah... but it doesn't have to?"

 

There was more quiet for a moment.

 

"Okay I'm probably the last person who should be saying that,"

 

The boy laughed again, and Keith felt something settle inside him.

 

"Hey, uh, wanna get a drink?" he said gesturing toward the bar not far from them, and the boy smiled.

 

"Yeah... that would be nice."

 

******

 

"So, who are you?" Keith asked, again internally cursing at the bluntness of the statement.

 

"...Leandro, you?"

 

"Keith."

 

"Well it's nice to meet you then Keith," Leandro said.

 

"Uh, you new in town?" he really was bad at this.

 

"You could say that..." he looked away.

 

Geez were awkward silences a theme or something tonight?

 

When they opened the door, they were flooded with a wave of noise and warmth. Light engulfed them with the cheery drunken atmosphere. He ordered a beer, and was quietly surprised when Leandro quietly asked for a lemonade.

 

They took their drinks, and wandered to the benches outside.

 

"So," began Leandro, "What were you doing outside on the boardwalk at this time?" he asked, before returning to the drink.

 

"Same as you: Crap day,"

 

"Okay, care to elaborate?"

 

"I'm new here too, and trying to find a job here sucks balls."

 

Leandro laughed, "Oh yeah I get that. So why did you move here then?"

 

Keith tensed a little, but responded before Leandro could retract the sentence, "Well, my brother lived here, thought I'd check out whether or not it lives up to his boasting."

 

"So you moved here? Instead of just visiting?" Leandro raised a brow sceptically, and Keith bit his lip.

 

"I guess...:"

 

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," he sighed, "I'm sorry for trying to pry."

 

"No, it's okay. It's just, my brother's in prison."

 

"Oh geez, what did he do?"

 

"That's just it though, he didn't do anything," Keith growled, before noticing the tone, "Sorry, just..."

 

"Nah it's okay, touchy subject, I get it," the look on his face was serene, "So you moved here to get away from all that?"

 

"I guess... but part of it would definitely be curiosity."

 

Leandro nodded in understanding.

 

"So what about you?" Keith tried.

 

He frowned, and briefly closed his eyes, "It's kinda hell where i came from, thought I'd move back home, it's been a while but everything's, just so different."

 

"How so?"

 

"Well, my sister's dead for one thing."

 

Keith's eyes widened at that, and for a while he found himself lost for words, "I'm so sorry, I lost my parents..."

 

Leandro was silent, so Keith continued, "Life sucks like that, but I guess it's better to accept that rather than just feel like crap all the time."

 

"Oh yeah?"

 

"Yeah, I mean I'm sure your sister wouldn't want you to be mourning her all the time right?"

 

Leandro looked at him and smiled, "Thanks, I'm sure your parents wouldn't want that for you either."

 

Something warm ignited between them in that moment, something Keith couldn't put his finger on, and honestly didn't care to think about just yet.

 

He looked down at the time and frowned, "I think I should probably get going. I can pay for the drinks if you want?"

 

"Sure, mind if I ... uh, walk with you for a while though?"

 

"Not at all."

 

They didn't talk much that night afterwards. Keith paid and Leandro thanked him profusely, but a few steps from the bar door and Leandro stopped.

 

"Something wrong?" Keith asked.

 

"No, just, Urgh, can I ... give you my phone number?"

 

"Sure?"

 

A look of relief crossed Leandro's features as he typed in the details. And once he was done he curtly handed back the phone and Keith Pocketed the device.

 

"I should probably get going too,"

 

"Ok," said Keith, "It was nice meeting you,"

 

"Likewise. Oh and Keith,"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Good luck finding a job."

 

He smiled as he turned to leave, and the weird sort of warmth nudged again inside him. When he reached the door to his apartment he took out his phone and stared at the contact.

 

Leandro Sanchez, 23 6882 820 31

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man that was a lot of Dialogue
> 
> And again, thank you so much Hannah for proofreading.
> 
> I'll be getting the next chapter out as soon as I can, but it will be a lot shorter than this one.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! and I hope you have a better day then Keith and Leandro.


	3. No Caller ID

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith meets Hunk and Pidge and finds out something is up with the Phone number.

It had been a few days now since he'd seen Leandro. His final words followed him, hanging in his mind as a good luck charm would. A few people had been willing to hire, but waiting for a call back or an available position was its own kind of torture. Still, he made an effort to keep a positive attitude in his waiting.

 

His thoughts often strayed to Leandro. To his soft tan skin, messy brown hair and ocean blue eyes that had lit up when he got him to laugh. The way he, despite being a complete stranger, was so easy to talk to by the warm light of bar that had warded of the cool dark of the night. He had a friend, at least, and that was comforting despite the crushing doubts and insecurities that had brimmed his mind.

 

It was around late afternoon, and left without an immediate task he lazily decided to organise his things. Gathering the few items that had looked so little in the face of the larger apartment. He picked through the crowded boxes and pulled free his knife first. Not a practical item, a weapon more than anything else. It was the foster home that had opposed his possession of such a thing. He'd only gotten it back after Shiro's family had taken him in. It had seemed like such a stranger then.

 

He glanced back box and put the blade aside. Favouring instead his only framed memory of his father, running his fingers along the weathered glass. He thought of his first home. The shack in the desert. With a small smile, he recalled the hot sand between his toes, no matter if he wore shoes or not. The thought that linked the past with such a new place by the coast.

 

A soft tapping came at his door and pulled him from his thoughts. Setting down the picture he made his way to the door and pried it open. He was met with a taller guy. Larger in general stature. His expression was wary yet curious, in a manner that confused him slightly.

 

"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Sorry if this sounds a bit weird, but i bought a little more food than I needed, and well I guess I was wondering if you'd like to maybe come over for dinner at out place tonight?"

 

"uh... okay? And you are...?"

 

"Oh! Yeah, it's Hunk. I live next door with Pidge. So, uh... see you then I guess?"

 

Keith hesitated in his response, "Okay, sure I'll be there."

 

"Great! Well ... bye then," Hunk said, before quickly retreating down the hall.

 

Confused, but also quite a bit fair surprised, he watched him disappear before closing the door to continue. It was a strange interaction if he was being frank. But to give the guy some credit neither of them really knew each other, and he supposed it would be good to meet some of the neighbours. Even if his first instinct would be to shy away from that kind of interaction.

 

So he went.

 

Around 6:00pm, he softly knocked on the door and the night began. Enveloped in the sense of warmth and light in the apartment. 

 

Hunk was far more animated in conversation. Nervous, yet surprisingly open. A polar opposite to his room mate if he were honest. With Pidge, he shared brief conversation with, but if anything else they just seemed as closed off and sceptical as he was. It took only a few more meetings with the pair for them all to loosen up.

 

But in the end, he was glad to have gotten to know a few of the residents. Something about this all made him feel so much less alone.

 

*******

 

It wasn't too long after that that he finally considered calling Leandro. Well not entirely true, the idea had been floating around his head for a good while, he just didn't have much of a reason to before. It felt like he should have let this go. Another brief memory of a conversation that would inevitably fade. But at the same time, he just couldn't.

 

Sighing, he picked up his phone and opened the contacts list. It was late morning, so reasonable time. Sunlight filtering through the blinds and tracing golden shapes on the room. He hesitated before pressing call.

 

That was where he met his problem. It wasn't a phone number. One recognised at least.

 

He gave a blank stare and tried again. Still, the pop up again greeted him. Confused, and frustrated if he was being honest, he looked back over the contact. But nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing but the number at least. He set the phone aside for a moment and, sitting up, started pondering how much of a nuisance this all was. All while grappling for any explanation he could.

 

Not a phone number seemed like a bit of a stretch. Along with the possibility that Leandro gave him a fake number as some kind of prank or mistype. Mistakes like that happened when one or two numbers were mistyped, and even then it was still a viable phone number (just not the one you were looking for). And on top of that, what was the point of providing a fake number to him anyway? Leandro had been the one to requested they keep in contact.

 

Life was strange in a way he couldn't put into words.

 

He considered while he sat there on the couch in his sleepwear, going back to the boardwalk. This whole thing seemed to mock him. Why not make sure every effort to meet him again would be pointless? Facts dancing around him and the answers just out of reach.

 

Taking a quick breather, he decided on cleaning up his apartment again. It was almost done. A lot of the mess was just rubbish to take out by now. Empathy boxes and such. So, he picked himself up and set to work. Tackling the task at hand while his mind strayed to god knows where.

 

He didn't meet many people on his way through the halls. Most would be at work or enjoying the day at this point. Which was fine. It let him consider his next move. Calling had gone south, but for some reason, despite these odds, there seemed to be something compelling in leandro. He knew he wanted to talk to him again. In all honesty, he really didn't know that much about him, and he felt unsatisfied with just letting this go.

 

But then what to do about it? It wasn't until most of the boxes were crushed and inside the bins did an answer come. Well, more a temporary solution to be truthful.

 

Charging up the stairs, he dialled for Shiro. Hands fidgety, while he awaited a response. It had been a while since their last talk, enough to make him feel guilty as hell for not calling sooner. But nonetheless, he held the device to his ear and braced for conversation.

 

Shiro, being the detective and worrywart that he was, immediately plagued him with questions. He himself responding in kind. The conversation shifted a lot from then on, topics changing from perhaps more normal conversation to stories and jokes they've told way too many times before, driving Keith to momentarily forget his problems. It wasn't until about an hour from the initial dial until the thought struck him again and he finally got around to his question.

 

Shiro had to think for a moment or two after his explanation, "So... have you, maybe considered it could be a message of some kind?"

 

"Why would he give me that?"

 

"I don't know. It could be a secret code or something right? A letter for number swap or something couldn't it?"

 

"I guess... but what would even be the point? He could have just told me or typed it in English or something,"

 

"Well, did he seem scared when you met him?"

 

Keith hesitated in his answer, "No... he didn't seem scared or anything, more... upset,"

 

"Did he tell you why?"

 

"Yes, but why do you need to know?"  _this was between them._

 

 

"Just curious Keith, it's okay if you don't want to tell me,"

 

"Sure, so what should I do _D_ _etective_?"

 

"Maybe ask around a little? See if you can find what kind of code it is or if anyone knows Leandro,"

 

"Okay, but like, who do I even ask?"

 

"Well," Shiro suggested, tone a little sly, "You said you've met some of the neighbours, maybe start your search there,"

 

"...Okay,"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: HoW dO PeOpLe WoRk?!?
> 
> Also me: Well, it's a piece of crap but it's all i got   
> hope you enjoyed, and let's all hope I get the next chapter out sooner


	4. Priorities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge's POV.   
> Keith tells them about the phone number, and Pidge works some magic.

The meeting ended at about 5:30pm. Agonising to say the least.

 

She worked best on her own terms and having to explain every little detail to the other officers had its own special place in hell. So the briefing definitely wasn't fun, especially with Haxus being a cocky asshole every meeting and offering to take over. Insisting that the fate of the investigation not be left in the hands of a child (safe to say he deserved that black eye).  

 

Allura had been oddly quiet at the mention of the case, although not hesitating in standing her ground. Pidge had solved 5 minor cases that week, and that wasn't even counting the tips and leads she had provided the other detectives. But then again when it came to her two main missions she was stumped. There was evidence, but not enough to provide a suitable lead so far.

 

Allura, she could admit, was a nice person. Nice enough to secure her this job underage, and offer to help in her search. But since she had been appointed the position, minor investigations had flocked her way, serving as unwelcome distractions from the real mysteries. Minor cases that Allura painted as " _possible connections"._

 

At least the job had provided complete  _legal_ access to the police databases, and all stored evidence. It was quite a jump, and now that there was so much for her to sift through she had been ready to indulge in her most personal case. But that damn file had come into play, and tormented her to no ends.

 

Needless to say she was already pissed and tired by the time she reached her office. Watching the lights spark to life, and illuminating the train wreck that was her workspace. Papers littered the floor and towered in stacks on the table by the door (she'd gotten that when the space on her desk grew too little). Empty coffee cups and energy drinks overflowing in the bin with string and notes coating the walls. Sighing, she moved the paperwork on her seat and opened her laptop and set to work.

 

About three more hours passed before she leant back and decided to take a break. Three-quarters of a recent report complete, and so far no new ideas on how to break the encryption of the file. No way was she going to find anything close to an end to this paperwork tonight.

 

Rubbing her eyes, she heard her phone buzz on the table, and sluggishly reached for it. 2 messages. One from Hunk, and one from Keith. Seeing that Keith's was far longer, she quickly replied to Hunks message. She'd likely be back late. Well, later than usual, so it was only fair she let him know.

 

It was Keith's text the intrigued her:

"Hey Pidge, it's Keith

 

Hunk told me you were good with tech and stuff? I was wondering if you could help me with this thing. I met a guy a few nights ago at the boardwalk." (she smirked at that) "We talked and stuff but he gave me a fake phone number and idk why. Shiro though it might be a code or something? Anyway, Hunk thought you could crack it. Nothing serious i think, just curious.

 

His name was Leandro Sanchez,

Ph: 23 6882 820 31"

 

She smiled at the complements, before setting it down. Leaning on her desk, she considered the pursuit of this little mystery. Seemed suspicious enough. Another was was honestly the last thing she needed right now though, with everything else she had to do. But when your emo neighbour sends you a challenge, what are you going to do?

 

The first red flag was the lack of records on this Leandro Sanchez. There was no identity matches in any of the local databases and there never had been. There was no recent fingerprints to the name and no activity online... Nothing. So he wasn't a registered citizen in Arus at all, so it was either a fake ID, or her was just visiting from somewhere else.

 

She then looked into the number. Not a phone number seemed unlikely, but she searched and yes, it wasn't a recognised number. She ran it through some common code-breaking software and some number for letter swaps, which pretty much amounted to nothing.

 

Now her interest was piqued, she considered searching the transport records or asking keith about his 'sighting' so she could search the security feed for some form of identification. But considering she had to contact Allura for the footage, (and it was now 11:45) she put it to rest. It was thrilling to be doing what she was doing, but when you're not inconsiderable list of cass and things to do was as big as it was, it unfortunately left little time to be messing around with security cameras for 'personal interest'.

 

Either way, she scribbled down the information she had found on a post-it note on stuck it to her screen. An empty promise to look into it later if she could.

 

She stared is space for a few minutes, considering getting back to work while she was here (however long it might keep her here). It was then the creaking of the door caught her attention. Light penetrating the dim room.

 

"Pidge, you promised me you wouldn't stay in so late again," Coran's soft expression brought new guilt to the forefront of her mind.

 

Slumping over a little, she apologised, "Sorry Coran, force of habit."

 

"Cases can wait for daylight Pidge, and you know that overworking yourself won't help you find anything,"

 

Her expression turned sullen, "I guess you're right, Hunk is probably wondering what's taking so long too,"

 

"You get yourself home number five, I'll let you off the hook for now. But next time i catch you here post-shift I'm confiscating your laptop,"

 

"Sure thing Coran, I'll... try,"

 

Smiling, he left with the door open, as she sighed and turned back to her desk. Closing her laptop and sliding it into her bag before standing and heading to the door. Hesitating at the doorknob, and looking back over at the cases occupying her notice board. Too full, and far too personal.

 

Amidst the carnage of newspaper clippings and notes were three photos. Three very important people. Staring back were the eyes of her father and brother. Both inquisitive in their own right, and dearly missed. Beside them the report that claimed the murderer unknown. With the only evidence being the DNA footprint of someone who didn't exist.

 

On the other side of the wall, crossed out methods and passwords. With Veronica's serene face mocking them all.

 

As she drove home, her mind cast out. Tired and with a pang of sorrow again rising and occupying her heart. But then again, at the very least she had something else to focus on for now. She might just tell Allura about the phone number later, maybe see if the passenger lists for the boats had anything for her. She'd tell Keith next time she saw him, but priorities had to stay in line. And time couldn't be wasted too much in pursuit of this.

 

'But who knows?' She thought, 'Maybe there was a little something left for me to find...'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright Pidge's POV!  
> (I'll be honest and say I'm not too happy with this chapter ¬_¬  
> But here you go, hope you enjoyed anyways.)
> 
> Although come to think of if this might raise more questions than answers for you guys...
> 
> Also shoutout to oswaldide and all you who gave kudos!   
> Thank you so much for your support, it really makes my day!
> 
> Hope to get the next chapter out soon!


	5. What's Left to Find?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Hunk tell Keith about the Mclain Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so.......Been a while hasn't it?
> 
> I have nothing to say for myself other than i found this sitting in my documents for a while and then looked myself in the mirror and Told my Perfection Complex to Calm the Fuck down because i am getting this done whether i like the end result or not.
> 
> so anyway, enjoy the fic i guess? I've literally spent all day writing 4 extra chapters for you and i don't even know if i've given everything away yet.
> 
> oh the woes of writing mystery...

Keith's POV.

 

"What do you mean not a real person?" Keith asked

 

They'd managed to catch a break by the boardwalk that day. The waves in daylight and the bustle of thinned crowds created a totally different atmosphere than he remembered. He'd been excited when Pidge had promised to share everything they had found that day (at the promise of payment via ice-cream of course). Needless to stay, shock and annoyance wasn't the limit of the emotions he'd felt at the news.

 

"Just as I said, Police databases turned up nothing on the name you gave me, and whatever code he could be using isn't in the least easy to crack." Pidge said bluntly.

 

Keith sighed, "Exactly how long did you spend on this again?"

 

"Oh don't jump up my ass about this Kogane! I spent longer than I should have all things considered."

 

"Okay, Okay fine." He said, pausing to think, "What about security cameras?"

 

"Can't check without Allura's permission," She said bitterly, Hunk returning with their ice-creams, "Can't get too off track though,"

 

"Guessing no luck on the Mclain case then?" Hunk added.

 

"Nothing," She said turning the cold desert in her hands.

 

Keith in all his innocence could only think to ask, "The Mclain case? I thought they marked that solved."

 

The other two glanced at each other, Hunk nodding to Pidge to explain.

 

"Alright fine. As you know about a year ago Veronica Mclain was found murdered in her office."

 

"Yeah. Shiro was framed for that."

 

"Right, anyway," she leant back, "So Shiro was charged, but at the time Veronica had been investigating something really confidential. No one really knew what, but it's supposed to be crazy important for some reason. Only problem is no one can get to it because there's this stupid fucking Batshit ridiculous-"

 

"What Pidge is trying to say!" Hunk intervened, "Is that when they were going through Veronica's office for evidence they found a file on her computer that's almost impossible to get into without a specific password. A lot of the higher ups think this file could hold federal importance but so far no success in getting into it."

 

"… And that's what you've been doing Pidge?"

 

"Yeah well, nothing really to do but try and fail at hacking into it, and solve some minor cases in the meantime." she said sadly, "I was hired because they thought I was some kind of prodigy, but I think the real reason was because Allura wanted me to stop breaking the Law every time I opened my laptop."

 

"And you did?"

 

"I mean, it was a while ago, but yeah. Thanks to me the IT department has gotten a run for their money."

 

"Well now I've just got context for your rants now," Keith said laughing a little, "Do you think there is anyone else that Veronica could have told?"

 

"Genius deduction Sherlock, but the only people Veronica could have told either have no idea what we are talking about or they're…"

 

Hunk averted his gaze solemnly. Keith raised an eyebrow.

 

"Anyway, that's what I have been wasting my time doing the past year. But then again…" Pidge smirked, "You haven't told us too much about this mystery Boyfriend of yours."

 

Keith's face went red, "He's not my boyfriend! We met, had a drink and that's it!"

 

"Right," Hunk teased, "And you are so determined to find him because…"

 

"Because it was weird? Who wouldn't get suspicious if they were given a fake phone number?"

 

"Yeah whatever, can I at least get a description"

 

"Check the security feed and find out," he quipped smirking.

 

"Fine, fine. So what did you even talk about?"

 

"Not much really." Keith admitted, "He was crying when I saw him…"

 

From then on, their interest was piqued, "Crying?" they both asked.

 

"Yeah, you know when water pours out of your-"

 

"Stop being a smart ass Keith, you're no good at it." Pidge said, "Do you know why?"

 

"Come to think of it not exactly sure. He said it was rough day, mentioned that a relative had died, but other than that he didn't really say."

 

"That all he said?" Hunk asked concerned

 

"Not really," Keith said rubbing the back of his neck, "But he did seem pretty keen on giving me that number."

 

"Great so no leads on anything, the guy was crying for some reason and Keith is an oblivious idiot even by our standards."

 

"What they hell is that supposed to mean?"

 

"Have you considered he was maybe looking for a date?" Hunk suggested smugly.

 

"Didn't feel like it. And fake number remember?"

 

"right…well, I'll ask Allura about the cameras, but you owe me some seriously good cheesecake," Pidge took another lick of her ice-cream. It was almost done at this point.

 

"What's wrong with mine?" Hunk said dramatically.

 

"Absolutely nothing, I just wanna see Keith suffer." she smirked.

 

"gee thanks," Keith said, "so same time next week?"

 

"I guess, unless I tell you otherwise…"


	6. Chance Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance Meets Keith a second time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, who knew this would happen? 
> 
> Yes this is a chapter dump, and yes, Lance is thoroughly screwed, and double yes i am an angst writer so what did you honestly expect?
> 
> Anyway, as i always say in Notes like these:
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Lance POV.

 

He shouldn't be here. He should have moved off a long time ago, but whoever he was supposed to be meeting wasn't showing. He'd thought he'd given them enough time… they were supposed to have met my now.

 

They'd told him to meet a guy called Regris, whoever that was. They'd said to keep the interaction a secret and meet him at the boardwalk at night when he arrived. He'd been told he might be delayed, but he hadn't shown. Not once even after he came back almost every night over the past week. Needless to say, things were not looking good.

 

Sighing, he wandered to the bar and to check the news. It was a good place to hear chatter, plus the only place around that showed the news without a fee. He'd seen enough movies to know. Settling down his mind drifted to the familiarity of this place. He'd been fed up by now from just waiting, and while he'd counted himself lucky for meeting Keith, he wouldn't be safe until Regris took him someplace safer. He strained his ears to pick apart the noises to find something he could use, but it was loud and there wasn't much he could do without outwardly looking suspicious. He'd considered buying a drink to better blend in, but he really did not have the money to waste.

 

Two tall figures entered the bar, and set down a few seats beside him on the bench. They were both officers of the law, and he barely contained his fear. He pulled his hood tighter over his face, and hesitantly asked the bartender for a water.

 

It was risky, he knew that, but he couldn't just walk away. Some things you just didn't find on the news, and these people could be a gold mine of information if things went his way. He could only see three ways this could end. Two of which spelled disaster.

 

  1. He gets arrested
  2. He somehow makes it out, but is marked as a criminal
  3. By some miracle he isn't put under suspicion



 

They talked of familiar things for a while, him sipping his water slowly as he listened in. Things like their family and complaining about co-workers (one in particular apparently had more sass then they considered appropriate). But then they said something he couldn't ignore.

 

"I heard bagging up that murder was a hard job. Any idea who it was?"

 

"Yeah, profile said it was a guy called Regris something-or-other, no leads on the motive or the suspect. Not even any witnesses I need to sort out,"

 

Lance's eyes widened. And he could feel one of the men's eyes on him.

 

"Things aren't looking good for us, they say _that_ file might have all the answers…" he drawled out still eyeing Lance, "What do you think of that?"

 

"I think Holt can go stick it up her ass," he chuckled, "What makes the captain think she'd do a better job than any other professional!?"

 

As discretely as he could, Lance handed $2 to the bartender and exited the store, trying to keep a steady pace.

 

He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he froze.

 

"Where are you off to?"

 

Now if felt like most of the bar was looking at him, and that was far too much attention than he wanted  right now. He refused to meet the man's eyes, but put on a saddened expression and simply said, "I had a date that was supposed to be meeting me here a while ago, doesn't seem like they're coming though,"

 

"Maybe you should wait some more then? I'm sure they'll show eventually,"

 

Lance chucked nervously, "Nah man, I been waiting for a while now, but thanks anyway,"

 

The hand left his shoulder and he walked out of the bar, hearing the soft tinkling of the bell on his way out. When he was out of sight from the bar completely he let out a huge exhale before bumping into someone hard.

 

They both fell back, and he felt his hood fall from his head. He wanted to say some snide remark or something but when he looked up to see who it was he was shocked. Make it two nights now, he'd seriously doubted he'd meet the same guy twice, but here was fate proving him wrong and ruining his plans yet again.

 

Because there right in front of him, with the same kind eyes he remembered, was Keith. And he didn't know what to do. Both of them just stared in disbelief at each other for a long while.

 

Feeling the awkwardness taking over the situation as instincts screamed at him to fill the silence, Lance cleared his throat and muttered, "Long time no see, Mullet,"

 

Keith blinked, "Mullet?"

 

Lance chuckled to himself as they both stood up, "You got a job yet?"

 

"Yeah, its' not much, I'm mostly just serving stuff in Cafés and filing things for this one company for now, but it's a start."

 

Lance gave a low whistle, "Wow, you got two jobs! That's more than I've ever been offered, kind of jealous if I'm being honest,"

 

Keith chuckled, "Is what it is I guess, Do you have somewhere to be? You looked like you were in a rush…"

 

"Well I was, but I wouldn't pass up a chat with you," he winked, "What are you doing out here?"

 

"If I'm being honest, I was looking for you. That number you gave me wasn't working,"

 

Lanced weighed the options and decided on playing dumb, "oh really? I must have typed it in wrong or something, sorry 'bout that…"

 

"it's alright. So why are you out here?"

 

"Eh, decided to head out for dinner, been a while since I've treated myself to some good food," Ok not totally a lie, but still very much not the truth.

 

"Well there's a place a few walks down I know, I can take you there if you want. Haven't really eaten yet myself,"

 

Lance smirked, "You're paying though right?"

 

"Why?"

 

"Because if you’re the one with two jobs,"

 

Keith sighed, "Don't you have one?"

 

Lance made a face, "I'd rather call this an extended visit…"

 

They walked to a restaurant that looked pretty new to him if he was being honest. It surprised him to see one this way out, but then again a lot had changed since he'd gone. It wasn't really any type specifically, but the smell was absolutely amazing and made his mouth water.

 

They picked out a booth by the door and settled down onto the couches. There were a lot of people, he should have been used to that by now but he still felt a bit uncomfortable. The chatter was nice though, but things felt familiar in a way he couldn't place.

 

He found out why a little too late, when a way too familiar voice called out the order names and he felt something turn in his stomach.

 

"You ok Leandro?" Keith said, snapping him out of his daze.

 

"Yeah, just thinking about stuff," he tried to shrug it off, "You come here often?"

 

"A bit, I know one of the chefs, and I got to say the food here is awesome,"

 

"Got to agree with you there, I haven't eaten this well in who knows how long…"

 

_Shit._

 

Keith's eyes widened in concern, but didn't look like he was going to push the matter, "Ok… so how long were you staying for?"

 

Lance hesitated, internally sighing in relief, "Well… I was supposed to be here for only a few days but things are kinda going sideways so I'll likely be here for a while, not sure how long though,"

 

"Don't you have work to get back to or something?"

 

"Yeah, but I had a falling out with my boss so I had to call it quits," Lance hated how easily the lies came to him, "Dropped back here for Nostalgia's sake but things just aren't working out with the boat and stuff so my tickets are kinda invalid and yeah… at least I have the time though!"

 

Keith thought for a moment, "Well if you're going to be here for a while, I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my apartment some time? I mean, it'd be pretty boring just hanging out in a hotel by yourself for a while… It's if you want though!"

 

Lance smiled, "Yeah sure, I mean, if you don't mind… I'd rather judge your cooking than continue eating the crappy resort food, so sure, I'm down,"

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yeah, I mean there's not much to do here other than wait for a call back for my ticket, so I'm down. You do owe me a meal though."

 

"Why is it that I'm the one who's providing the food again?"

 

"Because you’re nice?"

 

Keith gave a dead look, "Sure…. So maybe tomorrow night? I'm thinking 6:00pm,"

 

"hmmm, How 'bout same time the night after?"

 

"Yeah that sounds good!"

 

Keith scribbled down the address on a napkin and handed it to him on their way out and they parted ways . Lance pulled it out and smiled to himself.

 

_'Keith you smooth fucker,'_ he thought jokingly to himself.

 

But then the thought hit him. He'd have to lay low for a while now that those two officers probably suspected him. They'd probably noticed him react to the news somehow. He should have expected that they'd be investigating the file regardless of who's side they were on.

 

But Regris was gone, and until someone else caught up to him (which was becoming uncomfortably likely), then Keith was probably his best bet on finding some form of safety. Things weren't looking good, and if anyone who knew who he really  was had heard that invitation, they'd be able to either get nab him on his way there, or they'd go after Keith. He couldn't risk either. He needed to be more careful.

 

Putting the address in his pocket, he sighed and firmly told himself he couldn't go.

 

He hoped again that Keith could find out what that number meant…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick shout out to anyone who's trying to figure out what that Code is..... Good luck!
> 
> *Scuttles away in a flurry of Confetti and a smoke bomb for good measure*


	7. Facing Our Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Hunk hang out with Keith and talk about things they'd rather not talk about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *takes large gulp of writing juice*
> 
> *ahhh*
> 
> MOTHERFUCKERS I WROTE THIS IN CLASS INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY WORKING ON MY ASSIGNMENTS BUT HERE IT IS AND I'M GOING TO SUFFER FOR IT BUT I GOT IT DONE AND I THINK YOU WILL LIKE IT!!!
> 
> *struggling noises*
> 
> *ahem*
> 
> i hope you enjoy this chapter. Jexxica_Jade can't make it to the phone right now and is currently being restrained to her desk to get her work done, as she asks herself again and again why she is still in this fandom after season 8.
> 
> As always i'd like to wish you well as we pray that Jex gets things out of her system quick enough to post this next chapter.
> 
> We at Shit's-hit-the-fan thank you for your cooperation

Keith POV

Keith did not forget to mention the phone number. He did not forget to ask him some questions about why he was here. But he cursed the fact that he still didn't know anything that was really important! The phone number being typed in wrong had to be a lie, and based on his get up Leandro didn't look like he was just on holiday. Not to mention the comment that he hadn't had a proper meal like that for a while! 

By now he was more than just suspicious of Leandro's situation, he was concerned. He was clearly trying to avoid something when he ran into him, and something in that restaurant had sent him on edge. What was he hiding? What the hell did he do?

He told Hunk and Pidge all of this of course, Hunk spluttering in surprise when he learnt that this mystery boy had dropped in to the restaurant he was working at, (and kinda flattered when he found out that he'd like his food so much). Pidge jotted some stuff down on a notepad. From what Keith could tell it had a list of all the information she'd gleamed from him about Leandro.

A part of him felt guilty that they were looking so far into this, and not leaving Leandro to his own devices.

What was really a kick in the balls though was the fact that Leandro didn't even show up to his apartment despite promising that he would. He'd prepared everything too and since it was clear by now he wasn't showing up he decided to call a meeting with Hunk and Pidge to tell them what had happened.

He'd give the guy some credit, dude was cryptid levels of mysterious.

"Ok so I've checked out the security cameras but couldn't really make out much. Based on his description and a few of the details you've given me I've narrowed it down to a few people, but I can't do much without tipping everyone else in the station off about what we're doing, and frankly none of us want that,"

"Wait a second, you said he was skittish?" Hunk piped in.

"Yeah, we bumped into each other and I'll admit he was kinda skittish, flinched a few times even when we were in the restaurant,"

"But we can agree that he was probably trying to avoid something?"

"Yeah, not sure what though…"

"Well, we do know that he lied about the phone number, so that's one thing. I'd say he's done something to piss the wrong people off and now he's jumped ship here to try to avoid them," Pidge said, setting down the notepad.

"He did say he had a fight with his boss…" Hunk suggested, "Maybe he was a part of a gang or something?"

"That would explain a lot actually…" Pidge agreed, "But not the phone number,"

"Could be an address?" Keith said, "Or maybe a signal? Could be trying to get some help,"

"Well in that case he's one hell of a secret keeper," Pidge sighed, "I've told Allura only a bit, I'm trying not to get her involved but I'll still have to ask her about the number,"

"I'm just hoping whoever Leandro didn't want to find here isn't onto any of us," Hunk said, "Whatever it is he's probably neck deep in something bad, what if we're sticking our necks where they don't belong?"

"I'm with you there," Keith sighed, "This is insane,"

"Yeah like Star Wars or Harry Potter levels of insane," Hunk muttered.

"Why those two specifically?" 

"What's that?" Keith asked innocently, unprepared for the weird and borderline horrified looks from his friends.

"You've never heard of Star Wars or Harry Potter!" Hunk near shrieked.

Keith scrambled back and tried to think of a defence, "I think I've heard people talk about it, and I've seen the first two Harry Potter movies-"

"Only the first two!" Pidge screeched, "God Keith, what kind of life are you leading?"

The two near strapped him to the couch at that point, Hunk rushing over to their apartment to bring his collection of DVD's. There was a lot of debate about how they should go about watching them all, and Keith was damn near paralysed. It had happened so fast that he couldn't help but worry about what he'd gotten himself into. That's how he got dragged into his first real movie marathon, with Hunk and Pidge eventually deciding on beginning with Star Wars and the order they should watch them (Pidge eventually coming up with the idea from a site a while ago). All of which made no sense at all to Keith, especially when they'd started watching. 

Keith wouldn't have confirmed on just how many times he'd paused the movies to ask a question.

Hunk brought snacks in between movies, and made Pidge put away her laptop and notes. They brought beanbags from their apartment too despite the obviously big enough couch. By the time it was Midnight, they'd made it through 3 of the movies, and as the credits rolled on one of the prequels (for the life of him Keith couldn't remember its name), Pidge turned to him with a saddened expression and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Keith I didn't know whether or not to tell you but…Allura's going to question Shiro again," she let that sink in.

His mouth went dry, "Why would she need to question him again, they seemed pretty sure when Shiro got charged,"

"I don't actually know… Allura's been more and more quiet about her cases, but if I had to guess I think it'd be because she's having second thoughts,"

"So there's a chance he might be getting out?"

"Well yeah, but…. Allura wanted to talk to you too, and so did I, about why you think he's innocent…"

"I'm sure you know why Pidge," by now Hunk had muted the film and turned to listen in.

"I want to hear it from you Keith," Pidge pleaded, "Why do you think Shiro is innocent. You've known him much longer than any of us,"

Keith sighed, "I don't really have a lot of credible evidence or even an alibi, if I did I'd have stepped forward a while ago… I just know ok? Shiro could never hurt someone like that, not for any of the reasons people say he did. If he ever had to hurt anyone it was because he didn't have any other option,"

"I'm with you there… Allura probably knows that as well or she probably suspects that he knows something about the Mclain case that he hasn't told anyone,"

"And if you're wrong? They still got a confession out of him… how does that even work?"

Pidge shrugged, "I mean, maybe they blackmailed him into something? The whole stations a pretty big mess as far as I'm concerned… I only really joined because Allura gave me a good reason to,"

"Which was?" 

Pidge gulped, and Hunk gave her a look of concern. Silently asking her something before Pidge shook her head no and took a deep breath in.

"When I was 15, my brother and father went missing," Keith's eyes widened, "Everyone was looking for them furiously, which to be fair was partly because my mom was hassling them so much for any information, by the time they found them though it was too late…"

"What happened?" Keith asked hesitantly.

"Their bodies had been found in a carpark pretty far inland, but problem was everyone had checked that place way too many times for them to have been there all this time. There wasn't so much as a trail of blood or even any security feed to suggest someone had dumped them there. It was like one minute they weren't there and the next they were, the only finger prints we'd found on the weapon didn't belong to anyone either,"

"So you hacked into the Police databases to try and find out what they were hiding?"

She nodded, "I didn't find much, I think at one stage I was stupid enough to break in there in person which was how Allura found out about me. Nobody but she knew what I'd done and to keep me out of trouble she decided to put me to work on the Mclain case and the mystery of what happened to my family,"

"God Pidge, and still no luck?"

"You bet, but I did manage to find out a few things about the Mclain case, for one, I leant this guy was pretty close to them actually," she pointed to Hunk, who looked off.

"I was friends with one of Veronica's younger brother's, his name was Lance. And to be fair Pidge, you knew him as well,"

"Yeah," she said flatly, "If you count occasional glances in the hallway at high school as 'getting to know him' then sure,"

"What happened to him?"

Hunk looked at Pidge with a sad look in his eyes, Pidge was the one to respond.

"He killed himself Keith…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, Let's be honest here we all saw this coming....


	8. Identification

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura talks to Shiro about the murder, and Keith finds out that Leandro isn't who he says he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heh.... i somehow managed to make an super obvious thing shocking and am secretly applauding myself for this chapter before the self-deprecation kicks in.
> 
> Any way, to those at shit's-hit-the-fan:
> 
> YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE   
> [insert manacle/evil laughter here] 
> 
> oh and enjoy the chapter

Allura POV.

The room wasn't in any way a nice one, and for good reason. She could respect that but the fact remained that no matter how many times she'd set foot into rooms like these she'd never get used to that awful feeling that something was wrong, even though she was the one in control and nothing bad had ever come from this. She just didn't like it, period. And she especially didn't like seeing one of her most trusted friends on the other side of the interrogation table.

"Shiro, it's been a while, how are you holding up?"

"It’s ok, lots of people giving me glares and such but I can handle that much,"

She sighed, "Well I guess things could be worse, I should probably just cut to the chase then,"

"Please, do,"

"You don't know what happened on that night?"

"Yes,"

"And you don't have any clue as to what Veronica Mclain was investigating?"

"Indeed,"

"And you did not have any incentive to kill Veronica whatsoever?"

"You've asked me this before Allura, I did not once think about killing Veronica,"

"And again I tell you that your confession states differently,"

Shiro sighed, "You've told me that before too, though I'm not sure how that works,"

"Me too,"

"…What?"

"Shiro here is a portion of the audio recording from the interrogation," she pulled out her phone, "I want you to tell me if you remember this,"

He nodded and Allura hit play and watched him closely, the recording didn't have much in it, but after a few seconds two big things became apparent.

First of all, Shiro had clearly admitted to the motive and the incentive to kill Veronica. Secondly, Shiro looked horrified.

"That’s- that's not me,"

"I thought you might have said that," she smiled, "I'm not sure who set this up but I've had this case sitting in my brain for a while now, none of it was adding up,"

"So why now?"

"This seemed like the best time to talk to you, and I will admit I've been busy. And because… I want to hear your thoughts," she said, "You were one of the best on my team and also a key part of this show. Not to mention you've had more than enough time to think things over,"

Shiro leaned back and folded his arms, looking up at the ceiling, "My guess is that someone really didn't like me, and Veronica. Whoever it was probably thought they could kill two birds with one stone by killing her and framing me,"

"I was thinking along those lines too, and it has to have something to do with those cases the two of you were working on, master criminals don't like it when you find out too much,"

"Agreed, do you have someone you trust working on those?"

"Yes, she's young but she's passes many of the professionals I've met in her field, not to mention she provided some significant upgrading to the security,"

"Good to hear, made any headway?"

"Not much, but we're getting there," she sighed again, "I've been preoccupied with a lot lately and I finally caught myself some breathing room, Pidge has been working tirelessly but crime doesn't stop for anyone,"

"That is true,"

She leant forward, "I'm going to see what I can do about your situation Shiro, I'll have to consult Coran and some Lawyers, but I'll try to get you out on the grounds of this investigation, if things go well I'll get you out by the end of the day,"

"And if you can't?"

"Don't worry about that Shiro, but otherwise, how have you been holding up? I heard Keith's been keeping in contact,"

"Yeah, he moved into my old apartment, gives me calls every now and then,"

"That's good to hear," she said standing up, "I'll do what I can, I hope to see you soon Shiro,"

"Wait, one more question," he said carefully, "What can you tell me about Leandro Sanchez?"

"Who?"

"He's a guy Keith ran into a while ago, handed him a fake phone number and then didn't speak to him again,"

"Did you get a description?"

"No but last I heard Pidge was looking into it, might be worth checking out,"

"Maybe…" she said, "I'll talk to Pidge about it, today, goodbye Shiro,"

 

\--------------

Keith POV. 

Keith didn't know what to make of the officer standing at his door at 10:00pm. She looked like she was high ranking, and had white hair tied behind her, yet still spilling onto her shoulders. She held up a her badge, and introduced herself as Allura Altea. It would be impossible for him to claim he didn't know the name.

"Keith, I'd like you to come with me as soon as possible to the Arus Police station," she said calmly, as if what she had said wasn't setting alarms off in his brain.

"Can I ask why?"

"I can't say out here, but you should know that you haven't done anything wrong,"

"…Ok?"

No less than 2 minutes later, Allura had him in her police car, sitting in the back seat as protocol demanded, and drove fast with a concentrated expression on her face. They didn't say anything the whole ride over, other than her denying his request to call Pidge and Hunk to let them know he'd be out.

"They already know what's going on," she'd said, "Just please wait until we get there,"

The station was damn near empty, only about one or two lights were on, and most of the offices were closed. He'd peered in to a few of them, to see some people working the night shift, though they didn't acknowledge him. She gave a few orders for her to be left alone and unmonitored in the interrogation room because she had to take care of private matters (which only served to confuse him more), and one of the officers had joked that he'd stolen her favourite pen or something.

He could hear them chatting about what ridiculous small things they were betting he'd done to piss her off. His favourite was the bet that he'd forgotten to pay her back $20.00.

She let him into the interrogation room, and left briefly to go get her things. Necklaces and bracelets jangling as she left and entered again. She set a few small photographs in front of her, all of which matched the description he'd given Pidge closely, but none exactly. 

"Keith do you recognise any of these pictures as being the boy you'd met a few nights ago?"

Keith frowned and shook his head softly, "No, he's not in any of these pictures, sorry,"

Allura frowned, and slipped another photograph onto the table, "How about this one?"

It was a picture of Leandro, there was no denying that. He looked younger and far more lively than when he'd seen him, but it was no denying it was an splitting image.

"Yes," he said, "that's him,"

Allura took the picture back abruptly, and stared with eyes wide at the picture. She stood up and paced around the room, clearly trying to think of something.

"Is everything ok?"

She turned to face him, "Keith, I trust that you're familiar with the Mclain case?"

"Yes, Pidge and Hunk told me about the file as well,"

"Good, but you've heard about what happened to Veronica's younger brother?"

"Yeah, he committed suicide didn't he?"

"I'm not so sure of that Keith," she said in a low voice, leaning over the table and sliding the photo towards him.

"Because if what you say is true, then you saw Lance Mclain that night…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooohh my bois just figured some shit out!


	9. Confidential

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura assembles her team of investigators and they make some important clarifications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I whipped this up just now... and look our bois are finally figuring some stuff out!
> 
> I'm wondering what you guys make of this situation?   
> ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭   
> As always enjoy, and still no progress on school work.

 

Keith POV.

 

Keith didn't know what to make of what he'd just heard. They'd identified Leandro as someone who'd been dead for years, and there's no way that could make sense. If Lance had faked his death, then he'd done well but, what possible reason could he have?

 

It had to have something to do with the file Pidge had told him about.

 

Allura had thanked him for his time, and when he'd asked if she was going to talk to him about Shiro she said there was no need. She asked that he followed her back to her car, which he did. Though shock was laying cold dead weight on his shoulders, and on Allura's as well. She drove them to a house he'd never seen before, on in a 'better off' part of town. The kind that looks like there were mini mansions lined up on a street. She parked the car in the driveway, and led him inside to a large room in a basement. Like the rest of the house, it was clean, modern and sleek, with two noticeable differences.

 

That being the strings connected to photographs and notes pinned up on the walls, and the small gathering of people, that including someone he didn't think he'd see again for a long, long time.

 

"Shiro?" he said in disbelief, and everyone turned their eyes to look at him.

 

Pidge was grinning like an idiot while holding a book. She was draped over Hunk on the couch while Hunk helped himself to the beverages a Orange haired man with a mustache offered. On the other side of the room was Shiro, smiling widely before running towards him and wrapping him in a hug.

 

"How- what?"

 

"What am I doing here?" Shiro finished laughing softly, "Allura got me out on temporary bail, grounds for basis on the fact she was doing some re-investigating,"

 

"Good to see you've met Allura," Pidge said smiling, "Oh and this is Coran," she gestured to the man beside Hunk, who quickly walked over and shook his hand.

 

"So what's the scoop Allura?" Pidge asked.

 

Keith intervened, "You're not going to believe this one bit, but we've identified 'Leandro Sanchez' and now things make even less sense,"

 

"Oh do tell," Hunk said, before taking another sip of his drink.

 

Allura cleared her throat, "Leandro Sanchez is… Lance Mclain,"

 

Hunk spit out his drink in a move so comical it looked like it'd been taken out of a sit com.

 

"Please tell me you're joking?"

 

"I wish I was," she confirmed

 

"Keith, you're sure it was him?" Pidge asked seriously.

 

"I'm sure, though I'm not sure how this checks out, the photo Allura showed me was definitely him,"

 

"Unbelievable,"

 

"But how'd he managed to fake his death?!" Hunk near shrieked, "Even if he could do that what reason would he have to do that?"

 

Shiro turned to him, "Hunk we know that people wanted to question him about his sister, he might have known something and tried to step off the grid?"

 

"Yeah but you're forgetting that they found his body washed up on the beach!"

 

Keith froze.

 

"I saw him that day, I was with the search party when they found him, so how the hell did Keith talk to him? Twice?!"

 

Shiro raised his eyebrow, "Twice? Is my brother forgetting to fill me in?"

 

Despite the serious situation, Keith poked his tongue out at him.

 

"Could have been a ghost?" Coran suggested, "though I guess as investigators we can rule out that possibility for now,"

 

"Thanks anyway Coran," Allura said, "This is just beyond strange at this point,"

 

"Ok but there has to be something here we're missing?" Shiro said, "Allura we've already agreed that here was someone who wanted to keep whatever Veronica and I were investigation a secret. And they had the resources to frame me. Whoever they are, they could have found a way to stage a death for Lance too,"

 

"Yeah, but how do you stage a dead body?" Pidge said, "Especially when there were forensic scientist on hand who confirmed it was him,"

 

"Maybe they lied?" Keith suggested

 

"Maybe," Allura said, "But either way it all but confirms that whoever they are they think Lance knows something important,"

 

"So I guess we're doing another man hunt?" Pidge started, "God how do we even find him?! If he's managed to stay out of the radar for this long he's seriously wants to stay hidden, I'm surprised he didn't just come to the police in the first place…"

 

Coran's eyes lit up, "They have to be on the investigation team, or at least they're with the police, they must have known what Veronica and Shiro were investigating,"

 

"then no wonder Veronica was hesitant on sharing anything with anyone," Shiro piped in.

 

"Then that would be why he was so skittish when I saw him last time, he must have been scared of being reported,"

 

"So Lance probably knows who mystery person is, and that he couldn't just up and report them. So then how do we convince him that he can talk to us?" Pidge said.

 

"I mean, I am his best friend," Hunk said, "He'd probably trust me,"

 

"Yeah but will that be enough?"

 

The suggestion was uncomfortable to say the least. Every single one of them knew they were in over their heads, but did they really have any other choice? Shiro was framed by this guy, Hunks best friend was claimed dead and Pidge was onto this case since they were 15, it was a wonder they hadn't been offed yet, though maybe they hadn't found out about her yet. Allura and Coran probably had the most authority here, and could easily put this to rest if need be, but it was their job to figure shit like this out. What did that make Keith, a key witness that's what.

 

"We still haven't figured out what that phone number means…" he grumbled.

 

"Well whatever it was, Lance was probably trying to tell you something important," Hunk said, "if we crack the code it might save us a lot of time in this investigation,"

 

"And if it's just a dud number?" Allura said, "We're going to have to focus on finding Lance before we get ahead of ourselves, but first…" She turned to Keith, and the sudden rush of attention made him feel nervous, like he'd done something wrong.

 

She walked up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder, "Keith, I'm offering you a form of internship. I understand that you have other things to attend to so I will do what I can to help support you, but most importantly are you willing to help us with this case?"

 

Keith laughed softly to himself, "Is that even a question? I know I'm not as good as you guys but I'll be willing to figure this out pay or not,"

 

Allura smiled, and Coran did a little cheer.

 

Shiro walked up to him, "You sure about this Keith? It could seriously be dangerous,"

 

"oh please," he scoffed, "Yes. I. am. Coming."

 

Pidge and Hunk cackled in the background.

 

"One more thing though," this time Allura spoke the room as a whole, "I know you could all probably guess this but I do feel the need to remind you that this is strictly confidential! You are not allowed to tell anyone about this under any circumstances,"

 

"Especially the Police force?" Pidge asked,

 

"Especially the Police force," confirmed Allura.

 

"So what now?" asked Hunk, "I mean we've sorted some facts and theories out but we don't really have much of a direction aside from 'find Lance', so what should we do?"

 

"I'd suggest that a few of us go check out the Mclain house," Shiro spoke up, "that's where they found the note and if there's anything to find It'd be there or somewhere in between,"

 

"Is there stuff even still there?" Keith asked skeptically.

 

"Yeah, dusty but still there," Hunk confirmed, "Officers like Pidge have been going in and out of the place since they've found that file, and I seriously doubt Their family would have just sold it,"

 

"Alright," Allura said, "Hunk and Pidge, I'm going to allocate you two to check out the Mclain house, meanwhile, Coran and I will be taking care of the other officers and looking for potential suspects. Keith I want you to keep an eye and ear out for Lance, but otherwise I want you to act as you normally do. We need to be as inconspicuous as possible. As for you Shiro, I need you to look over the existing evidence, see if you can find anything of a direction, I'm trusting you to be our man behind the scenes. See if you can find any kind of direction as to where this trail is leading,"

 

They all nodded when Allura gave them their assignments, and god she was just the expectation of what a commanding officer or chief would be.

 

"I'll pick Keith and Hunk up every time we meet up," she continued, "meanwhile Coran you can take Pidge and Shiro if need be. We all clear on our assignments?"

 

They all nodded in response, though not much they could say to oppose her. Hunk took Pidge and Keith home, after a quick goodbye with Shiro and everyone else.

 

"This is so cool!" Hunk said excitedly, "It’s like we're secret agents or something!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
> 
> Any ideas as to what's going on? Because they could be a mile off or incredibly close and i sure as hell won't tell you!
> 
> *sticks tongue out and runs away laughing like a madman*


	10. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance humbly asks for Keith's assistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok to clear up some stuff that will be clearer next chapter! This takes place a few more days after the events of last chapter! 
> 
> Just wanted to be clear about that!
> 
> (I'm also wondering how long all of this will take you guys to find since i'm uploading all of this on the same day and i wouldn't blame you guys for giving up on any hope of me updating because if i'm being honest that's what my scumbag self would do)
> 
> Anyways enjoy a really short chapter!

Lance POV

It was late. He'd gotten used to coming out at this time now. Too used to the dark sky and the crushing silence of the streets as he walked.

Around $150 in cash was left in his pocket, and while he'd been pacing himself on the food, he'd only so much time before his only supply ran out, and in that time he knew he should have come out and told someone about it all. And gone to someone he trusted for help. But his family all thought he was dead, he friends as well, and he knew he couldn't turn to the authorities, not while he wasn't sure who he would be speaking to…

And then there was Keith. Keith who had treated him so kindly despite his own unwillingness to talk about his past. Despite all the mistakes he had made, and all the lies. Yes, despite being presented with every reason to hate him, Keith looked at him in a way that made him feel like he was everything. Like he was better than everything he had done, and every lie he had told. Like he wasn't some homeless guy in his 20s, running from something he wouldn't see coming.

Like he was special.

He didn't know what to do with that.

He continued along the path to the convenience store. Considering whether he should explain to Keith if no one else. But he wasn't who he said he was, so why should Keith be? He was beginning to regret giving him that number.

The bell rang as he entered. It was late, and the store empty save for the man at the counter, entertained only by the magazine taken presumably from the racks below him. He turned to find the food and drinks, taking the cheapest option available. Thinking again that maybe, if he could just spend as little as possible he could somehow extend the time he had to tell someone, anyone, about the simple string of numbers he kept guarded in his head. He hadn't eaten well since he'd met Keith 4 nights ago, and like hell he'd put this on Keith, or anyone for that matter. A bag of chips, and a bottle of water. That was it.

As he approached the register, another man entered. He was large and reeked of booze. Stumbling and eyeing him lazily in a way that made him want to run as far and as fast as possible. But the man had walked to the other end of the store, and seemed to ignore them from then on. So he handed the guy with the magazine the money and walked out the sliding doors into the night. Took a deep breath in the night air, and continued on his way.

It wasn't until he heard footsteps approaching behind him that he turned. Finding that same drunk man from the store coming up behind him, a malicious smile on his face, and the light gleaning from the knife in his hand. And he ran.

Pumped on adrenaline, his feet carried him to the familiar sight of the waves, only a few miles away, by the time he processed the situation. He'd known his chances of making it out fine while living on the streets were slim from the moment he'd arrived here, but when the front of his shoe caught a bump in the path, he knew he was screwed. The concrete caught skin, and before he could get up, he was slammed into the brick that made up the outer walls of a building.

He met the face of the drunk guy again, a smile he would never forget that sent a chill up his spine. Yes he had met worse, but as the hard unforgiving wall pressed against his back, he feared for his life. Something he had never wanted to feel again.

The sharp edge of the knife fell against his throat, and his squirming ceased. Now too afraid to move and cause the man's already sloppy hands from slipping. When thick fingers felt for his pockets he tensed.

"Please… stop," he croaked as the man found the small wad of cash, the only thing he had left.

The man dropped him when he pulled the cash free from his possession, and he crumpled to the ground.

"Please it's all I have!" he pleaded again, and rose to his feet.

Before he could do anything to retrieve it, a searing pain caught his bicep, and he fell to his knees again. Clutching his arm as the man ran laughing into the night.

Silent tears coursed down his face as he pulled his hand away, and met the sight of blood coating his hands.

He felt sick. Blood trickling down his arm and soaking the torn fabric of the hoodie. He knew he needed help, he just didn't know who to turn to.

Keith…

His given address wasn't too far from here, a couple of blocks maybe, but he couldn't be sure. He hadn't been there before and god forbid he get lost, but this was the only option he had left. The only person left he felt he could trust.

He took a deep breath in, and heaved himself up. He was shaking, and his arm flared from the sudden movement making him hiss. But once he was up, he took a tentative step forward, and began his trek. He could feel the blood slowly draining from the wound, and stumbled on a few occasions, but with each footfall he came closer and closer to his destination, so he tread on. Keenly aware that this time, he could very well bleed out.

When he finally entered the building, nausea had settled heavily inside him. He had to hurry.

One more flight of stairs. One more Landing. Come on!

By the time he had reached what he presumed was Keith's door, he was second guessing. And blinking dark spots from his vision. He looked blearily at the painted wood before him. The number mocked him as he rested his right hand on the bell.

He couldn't even remember the sound of the bell at this point. He was just too tired. And as Keith opened the door, and stared at shock at his figure he finally felt himself slipping.

"Lance? Lance?! Can you hear me?"

Lance…

He could have sworn… he'd said…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo so fun fact! this was actually one of the first scenes I've written in this fic because i am impatient and wanted to write Lance whump because that's honestly what i do now. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And the technically cliffhanger, you know what? i might actually take a few months break after posting this... *Laughs in pure evil*


	11. Bloodstains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this was the last thing Keith would have expected... but here we are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest, i kinda hate this chapter a lot. But i wanted to post it quickly just so i could tell you all that I LIED ABOUT THAT HIATUS just to give y'all a good scare.
> 
> so................... did it work? :D
> 
> Anyway, if you're one of the ppl who've been waiting like a day with fear that this'd take a while....Thank you for your investment.
> 
> So yeah Enjoy this piece of last minute shit pie!!!

 

Keith POV 

 

Keith didn't know what to make of the boy who'd just up and collapsed at his door. Part of him wondered if this was some kind of sick joke edged in good luck, because of course Lance would find him before Keith did, and of course when he did he was straight of dying of blood loss! He kept yelling at him to wake up and hold on but he was very much not responding. Fearing for the worst he found the pulse point and felt the faint thump of his heartbeat. He'd counted himself lucky that he was just unconscious. He let out a breath of relief, before thinking fast and rushing to grab a dish towel or anything of the sort to stop the bleeding before rushing over and pressing it into the wound. As he did so, he grabbed for a phone and dialled for an ambulance.

 

The wound In question looked like a deep slice on his upper left arm that was accompanied by a significant tear and quite frankly, a lot of blood. It made Keith sick to look at but Shiro had taught him first aid for a reason. He told the operator the situation and his address, being sure to not mention any details as to who Lance was and how he might of gotten injured. Once he was done he set the phone down and continued pressing on the wound, watching as Lance winced slightly as he did so. He felt guilt creep into his gut again, but then the thought struck him and he peered out into the Hallway.

 

There was a significant trail of blood drops on the floor, and Keith swore to himself. Lance had been careful for so long but whatever happened tonight had made him sloppy and desperate enough to reach out. And if Keith was right, and it was that mystery murderer Allura and Shiro had talked about, then Lance had led them straight to him.

 

He glanced through the open door to Hunk and Pidge's place. As far as he knew they were still out investigating. He glanced down again at the unconscious boy on the floor. He looked much paler than he should be, and much more relaxed. It didn't suit him one bit.

 

When the paramedics arrived and loaded him into the ambulance he chose to accompany them. Keeping a close eye on Lance as they administered some much needed emergency blood transfusions. When they reached the Hospital, lance was rushed off to be taken care of and Keith was left to fill out the paperwork in the waiting room and makes some calls. He decided against using Lance's real name, because honestly who knows what kind of connection that murderer had, and dialled for Allura once he was done.

 

It was pretty late, and had been a few days since their last meeting, and there wasn't anything on the agenda today. He thought she'd be the best option for an emergency contact.

 

If the doctors didn't just confirm their suspicions, they certainly added to it. There were plenty of questions asked about how malnourished he was and how he'd gotten just that many scars.

 

Allura met him there the next morning, and save for a quick doze in the waiting room, Keith didn't sleep that night. He got the news of what'd happened from one of the nurses when Allura showed. Apparently Lance had woken up and panicked at some point during the night, and that despite the wound not being too serious (aside from the previous threat of blood loss and infection), he'd likely have to stay a while until he'd properly gotten his strength back. He just needed a few deep tissue stitching and a lot of rest and food and then he'd be out of there. Allura had spent a lot of time trying to push Lance out of Hospital sooner rather than later, and to his understanding they'd come to an agreement.

 

He just sat and waited by the bed of the private hospital, watching him sleep (as creepy as that sounds), with a look of worry on his face. Lance shifted a few times, but didn't wake up. Allura wandered in not long after.

 

"I've notified the others of the situation, but they're still busy. I'm worried Lance's attacker might have followed him to your place so I've left Shiro with a gun and Taser. That good with you?"

 

Keith nodded slowly, and Allura sat next to him.

 

"God what do we even do when he wakes up?" he asked finally.

 

Allura shrugged, "Nurses told me it'd be a while until then, but when he does we can't ask what happened right away. More importantly, I should probably get changed."

 

"Yeah, I don't think he'd react well to waking up to a possible enemy,"

 

"I still think it's best though, if you’re the one he talks to first. He did come to you, so he must trust you enough to feel safe,"

 

"I hope so, but I'm still worried he might not react well, and you've obviously heard about the scars?"

 

She nodded, "And the malnutrition, we'll ask him about it when he's ready, but don't push him,"

 

She stood then and left, "Give me a call when you've had a talk,"

 

"Yeah," he responded dully.

 

"Oh and Keith?" she said on her way out, "I trust you,"

 

The door shut and Keith was left alone with the sleeping boy.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lance POV

 

When he woke up everything was groggy. Sleep had settled deep into his skin and it was making him feel heavy. He could feel something in his arm, and his eyes scrunched up at that observation. It was hard to get them to open, harder than they should be but still. He was still tired, but he didn't want to be tired any more.

 

Something uncomfortably churned in his stomach as scenarios he'd rather forget swelled to the forefront of his mind. He was still trying to get his eyes open at this point, and trying to sort out just what the hell had happened.

 

The first thing he saw when he woke was the white of the ceiling. Then he moved his head to take in plastic tubes sticking into his arm along with a thick white bandage on his other one. He was lying in a bed, a bed that was much too familiar to be comfortable.

 

Fear struck his heart and he tried to lurch up, just to get away from the place he'd hoped he'd escaped. In his panic he'd kicked up the blanket and the rustle and soft struggles had disturbed someone else in the room. He felt a someone touch his hand and grip it tight, and he squeezed back. As if snapped from a daze he turned to see Keith, worried expression on his face, leaning over him.

 

"Lance, it's ok. I promise, we're safe,"

 

Something wasn't sitting right with him, but he still settled down. Eyeing Keith suspiciously he asked quietly, "How do you know my name?"

 

Keith edged himself to sit on the bed, "I'll tell you later, but first things first, are you ok?"

 

"I mean I've had worse if that's what you're asking,"

 

"I know, I was hoping you could tell me about those scars later," Lance froze

 

"Also who the hell doesn't show up for a week and when he does he's bleeding out?" Keith asked

 

Lance laughed to himself, "Someone crazy I'm sure… where are we?"

 

"Hospital," Lance looked down at his hands, that would explain the tubes.

 

"You feeling ok Lance?"

 

"Yeah, well enough, So for putting this on you, I just didn't have anywhere else to go…"

 

"That's fine, I'm glad I gave you my address for a reason, but…I'll be honest I didn't expect this,"

 

 "I'm assuming you want to know what the hell happened to me?" Lance raised an eyebrow

 

"Well yeah, but there's no pressure-"

 

"No It’s fine," he waved it off, "I was mugged, and the guy was drunk, and- SHIT!" he lurched up.

 

"What? Lance are you ok?"

 

"No I'm not ok! That bastard stole all the money I had left!"

 

"Had left?"

 

"Fuck!" Lance leant back and looked like he was about to cry, "How in hell and I supposed to- shit!"

 

"Lance!" Keith snapped, "I can't help you until you tell me what's wrong, I get that you don't want to or whatever, but please…"

 

Lance stared at him with wet eyes, before wiping them off the back of his hand, "Sorry, I just, don't know where to start,"

 

"Beginning seems like a good place to start?"

 

"Nah, I'll do that later it'll take too much time," he said gravely, "I will say that I didn't have that much money to begin with, the most I had was 300 bucks, which is part of why I haven't been eating so well, the other half is because I wasn't sure how long I'd be here,"

 

"Oh, so that's why you were leaching of me for food," he teased,

 

"Nah, you offered remember?"

 

"When did I- Never mind. There's someone who really wanted to talk to you, though no pressure if you don't feel up to it!" he scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I don’t know too much about what's going on with you but it's pretty damn obvious you've certainly been hiding things,"

 

"How long that take you to figure out?"

 

"Since I found out that number didn't work,"

 

Lance sighed, "Well good job detective, you find much else yet?"

 

"Some stuff yeah, I know you don't want the police to know and that you've somehow faked your death pretty convincingly," Lance abruptly couldn't look at Keith.

 

They heard a knock on the door and a woman walked in. She felt extremely familiar but he couldn't place just why. She had white curly hair that hung loose on her shoulders, which looked strange considering how young she was, and wore a very simple, yet clearly well-made dress. She smiled at him softly, in a way that felt welcoming, though it was clear he wasn't out of the woods yet.

 

"Good to see that you're up Lance, I'm Allura Altea,"

 

_Fuck._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter in a gist:
> 
> Keith: The shit am i supposed to do with this!?  
> Lance: FUUCK!  
> Allura: Surprise Motherfucker!
> 
> so yeah, needless to say both Keith and Lance have a lot of explaining to do.
> 
> :D


	12. Frozen in Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Pidge find something important inside the Mclain house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Shiro, who's working furiously behind the scenes!  
> Shout out to Coran, who's doing more than we give him credit for when it comes to erasing suspicions and gathering potential suspects!  
> Shout out to Allura for all that she does in organizing pretty much everything!
> 
> And this chapter, a shout out to Hunk and Pidge!
> 
> Enjoy!

 

Hunk POV

 

Entering Veronica and Lance's house again was a surreal experience, to say the least. A space that was once brimming with life and familiarity was now empty and dark, not to mention the deep ache in his chest upon entry.

 

A few markers had been left by investigators to future detectives, with the house itself being preserved on the grounds that such a big secret might have held clues in this very residence. There were markers where the suicide note had been found and where all the devices were before being taken into police custody (these currently being worked on with Pidge and Shiro whenever they had the time). What felt so eerie and strange to Hunk, no matter how much reasoning demanded, was the fact that despite the markers and fairly thick layer of dust coating pretty much everything, the whole place looked like an exact carbon copy of the photographs taken the morning investigators had discovered the note.

 

Speaking of the note, Shiro had analysed it based on previous written artifacts from Lance with him, they had so far clarified that there were not differences in phrasing or handwriting (unless you counted the fact that it had obviously been fakes). Whoever had done this job, knew exactly what they were doing, and that was disturbing for a vast variety of reasons. 

 

Pidge had suggested that they move to the house together, asking Allura if they could take Shiro too which was unfortunately not possible unless they wanted to raise suspicion. She'd wanted Hunk specifically since he'd had close connections to the family and had been omitted from previous searches in the house.

 

They'd planned the visit only about a day after their first meeting, and already had Allura's permission. Until then, like Keith, they needed to act like nothing was out of the ordinary and work on hacking into a lot of the gathered devices from the house. A few traces of something suspicious had been left, specifically on Veronica's devices, this including calls and locations they'd added to notes on the boards in Allura's basement. Unfortunately, there was nothing really big aside from that which they could use to figure out what Veronica might have been investigating. Meanwhile, Lance's stuff was much less cryptic, with clear signs as to where he had been in the months leading up to his and his sister's deaths. He'd been working as a life guard at the nearby beach, studied mostly on online courses while checking out potential Universities in the state, and aside from pretty frequent detours to meet with friends like Hunk (or even potential dates), there wasn't really anything to suggest he was doing anything strange. There was however some clear signs he was in on the act.

 

The night of his sister's death, only about 40 minutes before her estimated time of death, he'd received a brief call from Veronica, and then had quickly rushed to her location at the office, before making it back home. Since that night, he'd barely stepped out of the house, and had refused all calls from anyone else. Hunk himself had tried to talk to him in person but hadn't found any signs of him being home.

 

This was big, but not really anything new. Investigators knew he'd talked to her that night since it was logged in her phone as well, which was a large part of why they felt the need to question him. Shiro had pointed out that they could have easily used this information to frame him, but since they'd probably needed to get rid of Shiro as well they'd taken that opportunity instead.

 

As far as evidence suggested, Lance could have known a lot or very little about the situation, even being a potential witness to the crime, which served to make the timing for his 'death' even more suspicious.

 

But seeing as he'd been at this house only a few days before he'd disappeared, it was a good idea to see if they could gather anything from the scene, though fingerprints were out of the question since multiple reports had already turned up nothing.

 

They'd gotten in at about 7:00pm, after a brief recap from Coran. They'd picked this time especially since a cover of darkness was an ideal time to move. That didn't mean though, that the whole idea of exploring an empty house belonging to a murder victim wasn't creepy as all hell. He'd had to have reminded himself constantly that this was the same place he'd been so comfortable in so long ago, though that did little to ease his anxiety. As suspicious as it was, Pidge had Allura arrange the power be shut on for about an hour while they searched to make things easier, and since they were early it'd taken a few minute for them to enter and switch things on. Since then they'd gotten to work.

 

Hunk had run through all the places he'd known about from his visits here so long ago, with Pidge explaining the few times she'd been here to look for clues for the password. Putting on gloves as not to disturb evidence too much, they moved a few pieces of furniture and had a proper sweep of the house. Pretty much everything was as they'd expected, but there was one minor detail.

 

Under Lance's bed was a photo album. Not especially big with a lot of people seeming very familiar and normal to him. Long lost friends, from his old home, events from high school and stuff like that. He'd started flicking through it for nostalgia's sake, because seeing himself, Lance and Veronica so happy together after so long was heart wrenching to say the least.

 

Pidge found him teary eyed on the dusty bed with the album not long after he'd found it.

 

"Hunk, you good there buddy?"

 

He stiffened and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, Pidge must have noticed because she eased down with him and stared at the open album with him.

 

"Damn, they look so happy in these," she said solemnly, Hunk felt like laughing a little.

 

"Yeah, I still remember taking a few of these, had no idea Lance printed them out,"

 

"Certainly makes out jobs easier," she said, "I wish I'd hung out with you guys more, I was a bit of a jerk back then,"

 

"Yeah, I think we tried inviting you to sit with us a few times, but you always said no so after a while we just sort of gave up, as bad as that sounds,"

 

"Yeah I get that, though I'm glad I'm getting to start over at least a bit now,"

 

"Me too," he sighed looking back to the pictures, fingers tracing the plastic slots before turning the page again, "I still can hardly believe he's alive,"

 

"Same here, it pretty much changes everything,"

 

"I get that, god what do we even do when we find him? What do I even say?"

 

"it'll probably come to you, you were always the one to know just what to say,"

 

"I guess so, for now I just hope wherever he is he's Ok," he said, turning another page.

 

"Me too,"

 

Hunks brow furrowed. 3 out of 4 pictures on those two pages fit what he'd seen previously, but there was one that stood out to him. He took the photo out of its slip, and Pidge followed his gaze.

 

In the photo Veronica was standing close to a girl with short blue hair and pale skin. She had a few piercings and generally a casual goth kind of look, supported by a choker and shark eyeliner, which totally contrasted Veronica who stood out of uniform beside her. They looked like they were really close with Veronica's arm wrapped around the strange girls shoulder with a smile on both faces.

 

It'd caught his attention because he'd seen her before, somehow he knew that face but had no name to put to it. He couldn't even remember if he'd talked to her or not, but if he did it must have been brief.

 

"Who is that?" Pidge was looking serious now as well.

 

"I'm not sure, I've seen them before but I can't remember their name,"

 

"Veronica and Lance must have known them well though… why weren't they mentioned in the reports?"

 

Whoever this girl was, they both knew she was new player in this investigation. There weren't any records other than this photo, and what turned out to be one more in the album, of her even being associated with Veronica.

 

"Whoever she is, she has to be pretty far into this case, could have known what Veronica was investigating," Hunk suggested

 

"But if she knew that could also mean she's somehow connected to the killer, it doesn't make sense that they would have done it alone,"

 

They didn't waste any time in taking this evidence and rushing to home base.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, so things are likely to slow down a bit now while this 'Writing High' as i'm calling it, is wearing off. I generally work in bursts so additional chapters might take a while.
> 
> I'll do what i can, but no guarantees it'll be as quick since Assignments and Exams are creeping up on me pretty damn quickly.
> 
> I am getting this done tho, cause I'm pretty damn invested in this now (despite the inconsistencies of the timeline among other things because hey mistakes happen).


End file.
